Police: Suspicious Beeping Sound Coming From Mailbox Turns Out To Be Low Battery On Mail Scanner

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Police closed off an area of Brighton Heights Tuesday morning after a suspicious package was reported beeping in a mailbox.

The "suspicious" sound coming from a USPS mailbox prompted Pittsburgh Police and a bomb squad to respond. Brighton Road and Benton Avenue were closed off to traffic for hours while the incident was investigated.

"Cordoned off the area, to make sure the residents were safe and no one could come close to the mailbox," Pittsburgh Police Cmdr. Jason Lando said.

(Photo Credit: KDKA Photojournalist Brian Smithmyer)

Police were extra cautious after someone reported the odd sounds around 6:30 a.m., a sound that just didn't seem right coming from the blue mailbox.

"Felt it to be suspicious and did what they should've done and called 911," said Cmdr. Lando.

"Someone was aware enough to see something suspicious and hear the beeping and calling, that's what we need," said Muhammad Rasul, who lives in Brighton Heights.

The bomb squad was brought in, along with technology that's essential in situations like this one.

"Send the robot in to investigate," said Cmdr. Lando. "A few moments ago, you saw the robot was kind of driving down the street with the device in its clamp."

That device? Nothing serious. It turned out to be a mail scanner. It was beeping because its battery power was low.

"I'm very happy because kids are around here, the bus stop is here, it could've been anything," said Rasul.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.